The Director’s Chair: Orchestrating AI for Truly Effective Learning

In a world racing to “do more with AI,” speed often outpaces direction. In this fast-paced, story-driven session, Mike Taylor shows how to step into the director’s chair—using AI not to replace human creativity, but to amplify it. You’ll learn how to combine marketing-inspired storytelling, emotional design, and smart prompting to turn AI from a content factory into a true creative partner.

You’ll learn how to:

🎯 Direct AI with purpose—give it context, constraints, and clarity so it creates meaningful learning, not just more of it.

💡 Blend human empathy with machine efficiency—keeping people (not prompts) at the heart of great design.

🧭 Apply a practical 3-phase framework to make your AI-assisted projects faster, more authentic, and more impactful.

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Want to stay connected?

🎬 Visit https://mike-taylor.org for resources and tools.

💬 Connect with me on LinkedIn to swap ideas. https://linkedin.com/in/miketaylor

📘 Check out my book, Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro —a guide to bringing a marketer’s mindset into modern learning design.

https://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Marketer-Train-Pro/dp/1960231197/

Because in the age of AI, it’s not about working faster—it’s about directing smarter.

Transcript

1. The Director's Chair: Orchestrating AI for Truly Effective Learning Mike Taylor trainlikeamarketer.com
2. Picture this…
3. They don’t do everything — but they make it all work.
4. Speed without direction
5. www.trainlikeamarketer.com $350+ BILLION
6. www.trainlikeamarketer.com % of training is never applied on the job
7. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Demand Investment Results? Not so much!
8. trainlikeamarketer.com
9. AI for everything
10. creating more content, faster creating more content, faster Creating more content, faster
11. “The biggest risk is that AI just makes us more effective at doing something that's deeply ineffective.” Philippa Hardman
12. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Insert Topic ↓↓↓ Slide Deck
13. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Fast — but generic & soul-less
16. trainlikeamarketer.com In one word — how did that first video make you feel?
17. trainlikeamarketer.com VIDEO
18. trainlikeamarketer.com
19. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Feel the difference? That’s not AI – that’s the human Director!
20. trainlikeamarketer.com “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.” Dale Carnegie Writer and Teacher
21. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Humans are UNIQUELY positioned
22. trainlikeamarketer.com
23. So what does this actually look like?
24. www.trainlikeamarketer.com The Director's Framework 3 decisions that change everything
25. Pre- Production • What does success look like? • What context does AI need? • What's non- negotiable?
26. Pre- Production • What does success look like? • What context does AI need? • What's non- negotiable? Production • Give context, not just commands • Set constraints • Define your role (and AI's role) • Describe success criteria
27. Pre- Production • What does success look like? • What context does AI need? • What's non- negotiable? Production • Give context, not just commands • Set constraints • Define your role (and AI's role) • Describe success criteria Post- Production • Does it connect emotionally? • Does it reflect authentic context? • What would we never say?
28. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Same Task. Two Ways. Passive vs Directed
30. Role Play with a partner: • Use the SBI Model (Situation– Behavior–Impact) • Keep it specific, respectful, and focused on growth. • Focus on behavior, not personality Debrief as a group: • What worked well? • What could be improved? • How can you apply this in your real feedback conversations? Undirected Output One of your employees, Alex, delivered a client project three days late. Alex is creative and dedicated but often underestimates timelines and delays communication. Give feedback that helps Alex improve without losing motivation.
32. Directed Output Company Context • Family-owned for 50+ years • Long-tenured, strong sense of loyalty • Relationship-oriented, “family” feel • Challenge: Low accountability and discomfort with tough conversations Learning Goals • Balance relationships and results • Build confidence in giving feedback and holding others accountable • Transition from peer to leader • Strengthen trust via fairness and consistency Key Learning Themes • Care and Clarity – Be kind & clear • Trust Through Accountability – Consistency builds credibility • Communicate Expectations – Define success clearly • From “Family” to “Team” Design Approach • Interactive workshops using real plant scenarios • Role-play: feedback with longtime coworkers • Peer coaching for practice • Manager toolkit: • Leader stories: of care/accountability
33. www.trainlikeamarketer.com This approach works because it changes how people think and feel, not just what they do.
34. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Direction turns generic output into meaningful design.
35. trainlikeamarketer.com In one word, what’s your biggest takeaway from this framework?
36. www.trainlikeamarketer.com AI can help us be MORE HUMAN!
37. Common Mistakes When Directing AI
38. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Treating the first output as the final product. MISTAKE #1 The first output is never the final output.
39. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Thinking you don’t know enough about AI. MISTAKE #2 You know learning. You know people. That's enough.
40. www.trainlikeamarketer.com I don’t have time for perfect prompts MISTAKE #3 Your org doesn’t want speed. It wants impact.
41. trainlikeamarketer.com ‟success…will depend as much on the emotions of humans as it will on the effectiveness of AI technology.” Philippa Hardman
42. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Everyone's success criteria is different Everyone's context is different Everyone needs to direct differently
43. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Only humans can create EMOTIONAL RESONANCE
44. trainlikeamarketer.com Phillipa Hardman Phillipa Hardman Josh Cavalier joshcavalier.com Ross Stevenson stealthesethoughts.com
45. trainlikeamarketer.com What’s your next step?
46. Take your seat AI isn’t the star — it’s your crew. YOU are what makes learning that matters
47. Get in Touch & Learn More trainlikeamarketer.com Mike Taylor mike@mike-taylor.org linkedin.com/in/miketaylor